Veterans Service Office of Jefferson County OH
Serving Our Veterans & Their Families
Mission
Jefferson County Veteran Services provides professional, caring and quality assistance to veterans and their dependents in obtaining benefits through county, state and federal programs. As advocates, we work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that our veterans and their dependents receive the benefits they have earned through military service
County Veterans Service Officers (CVSO's)
When visiting the County Veteran Services Office, you will be referred to a service officer for assistance. Our County Veteran Service Officers (CVSO's) are highly trained, professional advocates that share an understanding of the challenges our veterans and their dependents face. Our CVSO's attend the most current training on the extent, the meaning and the application of laws that have been passed by the U.S, Congress in the interests of veterans and their dependents. They also know the rules and regulations adopted by the Department of Veterans Affairs to clarify and implement those laws. Our CVSO's will apply specialized knowledge in the best way suited to the needs of every individual veteran or other beneficiary who visit our office for assistance..
Douglas A. Collins
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
​
The Honorable Douglas A. Collins was sworn in as the 12th secretary of Veterans Affairs on Feb. 5, 2025, following his nomination by President Donald J. Trump.
A native of Gainesville, Georgia, Collins saw public service modeled by his father, a Georgia State Trooper, and mother, who provided care to local senior citizens. He earned a degree in political science and criminal justice from the University of North Georgia.
Secretary Collins earned his master’s degree in divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and his community roots deepened in the eleven years he pastored Chicopee Baptist Church. In 2006, the people of Georgia’s 27th State House District elected Collins to represent them. During his first term in the state legislature, Collins graduated from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School and established his own legal practice.
As a U.S. Air Force Reserve chaplain, Collins has ministered to our country’s military since 2002. He completed a 2008-2009 deployment to Iraq while stationed at Balad Air Base. He remains a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, and he previously served in the U.S. Navy Reserve.
Secretary Collins served as a U.S. Representative for Georgia’s Ninth Congressional District from 2013-2021. While he is a public servant, attorney, and practicing military chaplain, he remains foremost a husband to Lisa and father to daughter Jordan and sons Copelan and Cameron. Lisa was a lifelong educator in Georgia’s public schools, and together she and Doug are actively involved at Lakewood Baptist Church.
